Luke 4–6

1Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

2where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.

3The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

4But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

5Then the devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.

6“I will give You authority over all these kingdoms and all their glory,” he said. “For it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish.

7So if You worship me, it will all be Yours.”

8But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

9Then the devil led Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down from here.

10For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You carefully,

11and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

12But Jesus answered, “It also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

13When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news about Him spread throughout the surrounding region.

15He taught in their synagogues and was glorified by everyone.

16Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read,

17the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written:

18“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,

19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him,

21and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

22All spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that came from His lips. “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” they asked.

23Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown what we have heard that You did in Capernaum.’”

24Then He added, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.

25But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land.

26Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon.

27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

28On hearing this, all the people in the synagogue were enraged.

29They got up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him over the cliff.

30But Jesus passed through the crowd and went on His way.

31Then He went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath He began to teach the people.

32They were astonished at His teaching, because His message had authority.

33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon. He cried out in a loud voice,

34“Ha! What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

35But Jesus rebuked the demon. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” At this, the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without harming him.

36All the people were overcome with amazement and asked one another, “What is this message? With authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”

37And the news about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding region.

38After Jesus had left the synagogue, He went to the home of Simon, whose mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever. So they appealed to Jesus on her behalf,

39and He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and began to serve them.

40At sunset, all who were ill with various diseases were brought to Jesus, and laying His hands on each one, He healed them.

41Demons also came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But He rebuked the demons and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Christ.

42At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place, and the crowds were looking for Him. They came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving.

43But Jesus told them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well, because that is why I was sent.”

44And He continued to preach in the synagogues of Judea.

1On one occasion, while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret with the crowd pressing in on Him to hear the word of God,

2He saw two boats at the edge of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.

3Jesus got into the boat belonging to Simon and asked him to put out a little from shore. And sitting down, He taught the people from the boat.

4When Jesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

5“Master,” Simon replied, “we have worked hard all night without catching anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.”

6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to tear.

7So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord,” he said, “for I am a sinful man.”

9For he and his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,

10and so were his partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to Simon. “From now on you will catch men.”

11And when they had brought their boats ashore, they left everything and followed Him.

12While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell facedown and begged Him, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

13Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

14“Do not tell anyone,” Jesus instructed him. “But go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

15But the news about Jesus spread all the more, and great crowds came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

16Yet He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.

17One day Jesus was teaching, and the Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. People had come from Jerusalem and from every village of Galilee and Judea, and the power of the Lord was present for Him to heal the sick.

18Just then some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They tried to bring him inside to set him before Jesus,

19but they could not find a way through the crowd. So they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

20When Jesus saw their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

21But the scribes and Pharisees began thinking to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

22Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus replied, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?

23Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?

24But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on the earth to forgive sins...” He said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”

25And immediately the man stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.

26Everyone was taken with amazement and glorified God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him,

28and Levi got up, left everything, and followed Him.

29Then Levi hosted a great banquet for Jesus at his house. A large crowd of tax collectors was there, along with others who were eating with them.

30But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

31Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

33Then they said to Him, “John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees frequently fast and pray, but Yours keep on eating and drinking.”

34Jesus replied, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them?

35But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.”

36He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will tear the new garment as well, and the patch from the new will not match the old.

37And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined.

38Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.

39And no one after drinking old wine wants new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”

1One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them.

2But some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

3Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

4He entered the house of God, took the consecrated bread and gave it to his companions, and ate what is lawful only for the priests to eat.”

5Then Jesus declared, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

6On another Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered.

7Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.

8But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and stand among us.” So he got up and stood there.

9Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

10And after looking around at all of them, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and it was restored.

11But the scribes and Pharisees were filled with rage and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

12In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.

13When daylight came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated as apostles:

14Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;

15Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alphaeus and Simon called the Zealot;

16Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

17Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there, along with a great number of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.

18They had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases, and those troubled by unclean spirits were healed.

19The entire crowd was trying to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.

20Looking up at His disciples, Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

22Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.

23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.

24But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.

25Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

26Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers treated the false prophets in the same way.

27But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.

30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.

31Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.

33If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.

34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.

35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

37Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

39Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?

40A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

41Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?

42How can you say, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while you yourself fail to see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

43No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.

44For each tree is known by its own fruit. Indeed, figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor grapes from brambles.

45The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

46Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say?

47I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them:

48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.

49But the one who hears My words and does not act on them is like a man who built his house on ground without a foundation. The torrent crashed against that house, and immediately it fell—and great was its destruction!”